


Hiding Behind Holograms

by phoenixyfriend



Category: Infinity War (Movie) - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aliens, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Disguise, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 08:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14667054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixyfriend/pseuds/phoenixyfriend
Summary: AKA: Karen Gillan gets to do some MCU scenes without spending two and a half hours in a makeup chair every time she’s on-screen.





	Hiding Behind Holograms

**Author's Note:**

> Originally just a tumblr post, now transferred to here.

Nebula and Tony get to Earth. Things are broken and numb and everyone’s struggling with grief, but Nebula finds Rocket, and Tony finds Rhodey, and maybe Pepper and Happy, and it’s not  _everyone_ , and maybe it’s not even  _the people they needed to survive_  (Gamora’s gone, will continue to be gone, was gone before the dusting even started), but they’ve got someone and they’ve got each other and it’s--

It’s something.

And maybe they land in Wakanda, or New York, or anywhere that Tony knows he can find medical care and people who are willing to help him take down a god-level threat. They end up in New York after a while anyway, if only because Tony needs to find his people, needs to visit the Sanctum, needs to assure a world of frightened people from the place they’re most hoping to see him.

And Tony offers to do repairs for Nebula, and maybe she accepts, and maybe she doesn’t, because the paranoia is just too much. She’s been alone and unable to trust for so very long, and Tony is a friend, now, the first in a long time, but trust is… it’s hard.

(She considers letting him in more than she considers Rocket, at least on this front.)

And maybe she tries to wander the cities, to meet people and see what this planet (Tony’s planet, Quill’s planet, the planet of the child and the wizard that died because Gamora valued Nebula’s life more than her own or anyone else’s) has to offer.

And people stare.

She is not human, and the people here aren’t used to that. Rocket gets looks, too, but not as many. Nebula’s harder to hide, and she tries, with hooded cloaks and the like, but it’s not enough.

(She almost tries something she sees some women wearing, but Tony stops her. It’s a twofold reason: this ‘niqab’ is used by a certain religion, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for Nebula to wear it. It would also draw a different kind of negative attention her way. Tony has a hard time explaining why, but there’s a woman, an employee that happens to be of the religion that Tony mentioned, that passes by and interferes.)

(The introduction to human prejudice is… enlightening. In the wake of such a large disaster, such tensions are flaring higher than ever, but that’s a part that Nebula isn’t surprised by.)

And Nebula’s never been happy with the idea of being trapped, and she’s not  _technically_  locked into her rooms and the nearest areas, but it feels like she is. She can’t leave without drawing attention to herself, and she  _hates it._

Tony notices. He notices a lot of things, Nebula finds, and she isn’t sure if she resents him for it or not.

“Here.”

She looks at it. It’s a watch, or something similar.

“You can choose to use it or not,” Tony says. “It’s really up to you, and Rhodey said I maybe should have asked first, but Natasha said it’s probably something any assassin lady would want to get for her holiday of choice, and you’ve been looking pretty antsy, so–”

“What is it,” Nebula asks, voice flat. It sounds like a demand, but Tony barely pauses.

“Put it on,” he says, and she frowns at him. He puts up his hands. “Won’t hurt, and won’t interfere with anything that’s already part of your body. You can take it off at any time.”

So she puts it on, and it’s snug. He shows her how to take it off, and then he shows her how to turn it on.

“Look in the mirror.”

When Nebula turns, a human looks back.

She can see herself, underneath. The planes of her face are the same, if her face were still unaltered by cybernetics. Her eyes are the same shape, though the color is drastically altered. Pale skin crawls across her form, disappearing under something she’s heard called ‘flannel’ and ‘jeans.’ She has… hair.

“You made me a redhead,” she says, for lack of anything better. Her voice sounds different. More human. More natural.

“The two most terrifying human women I’ve ever met are redheads,” Tony says. “Well, Natasha used to be. I’m not sure why she decided to go blonde.”

Nebula turns this way and that, examining it. “Why?”

“Why did I make it?” Tony asks, and she nods. “You wanted to see people, the city. Rocket said you were feeling trapped, and Natasha said that it’s hard for women like you and her to be cooped up just because you can’t hide yourself in plain sight anymore. I don’t want to make assumptions about whether you’re proud or ashamed of what you are, but I wanted you to… to have the option, I guess. Of disappearing.”

“Can I change the clothes?” Nebula asks.

“You’re okay with the face and hair?” Tony asks right back.

Nebula shrugs. She doesn’t have many opinions on human forms. If Tony says this is something that would disappear in plain sight, then she believes him. “It’s fine.”

“…let me show you the settings.” There’s relief in his voice.

(And when Nebula leaves her rooms and explores the city later that day, nobody looks her way any more than they do at anyone else. Some leer, or roll their eyes, or just glance and look away, already bored, but it’s all normal. She can hide.)

(She can exist and not be judged for it, and maybe someday she’ll be tired of hiding, but she has the choice, now. Gamora is dead, and that means that Nebula’s the most dangerous woman in the galaxy.)

(The ability to hide is such a useful tool, to a weapon like her.)

**Author's Note:**

> The section on the niqab was going to be longer but i decided it's not really my place to explore that, so it got a nod and I'll leave that to someone more qualified, if they want to explore it.


End file.
